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TheStute StevenstheStute
Volume CXVIII No. 25
Established 1904
April 30, 2021
CONGRATULATIONS, CLASS OF 2021!
Innovation Expo 2021
NINE STUDENTS NAMED FIRST IN CLASS
BY JORDYN RAMELLI
Business Manager
well as others. Beginning with the third place winner, President Nariman Farvardin announced each winning team after a (virtual) table drum roll. Scoring third place was Livelog, created by students Izy Engel, Regan Tarasewicz, and Hayley Tovey, which received a $2,500 prize. Livelog is a virtual concussion assistant tool that examines the eyes of athletes who suffer from a concussion. Noted by the
On Wednesday, April 28, Stevens began the annual Innovation Expo with previews of senior design projects in the Canavan Arena on campus. Following the in-person event, a virtual event was held on April 30 featuring more senior projects in a virtual setting. Both events began with opening remarks from President Nariman Farvardin and Provost Christophe Pierre. The in-person event focused on highlighting senior projects from the Schaefer School of Engineering and Science, the School of Systems and Enterprises, and the College of Arts and Letters. The online event featured projects from the same as well as the School of Business; a concert (A Living Room Concert) by the Music & Technology program was also performed through Zoom, as well as a research experience by faculty for middle and high schoolers and a Q&A session with the pitch competition judges. The Stute reached out to some seniors for a deeper look into their experience with their senior design projects. Computer Engineering major Jennifer Lloyd and Andrew Antonacci, as well as Mechanical Engineering major Sarah Bertussi,
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BY MICHELLE MEDINA and TREVOR DAMEIKA Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many events have been thrown into uncertainty; however, Stevens is planning for multiple in-person Commencement ceremonies. On May 26, there will be four ceremonies at different times celebrating specific majors and their accomplishments. Valedictorians will have to pre-record their speeches for the many ceremonies. Despite the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has caused, nine graduating students managed to secure a perfect 4.0. The first in class list includes Sarah Bertussi, Ivana Bozinovska, Michael Di Pentima, Alexis Fryc, Kevin Gmelin, Ian Kruithof, Ryan Ludemann, Stephen Lysak, and Ian Mauser. Sarah Bertussi — School of Engineering and ScienceBertussi is graduating with a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering, a minor in Computer Engineering, and a master’s in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Robotics & Control. Post graduation, she hopes to return working at Walt Disney World, where she worked as a Professional Intern with Integrated Facility Planning. Additionally, after graduation, she will be working with Barry-Wehmiller Design Group as a Controls Engineer. She is especially happy that Stevens found a way to make in-person ceremonies a reality despite the pandemic still going on. “I appreciate that Stevens is recognizing the hard work of myself and fellow First in Class. I am very glad that Stevens has found a way to hold in-person ceremonies this year and will be livestreaming it for those who cannot attend. It is disappointing that I will not be able to celebrate at the same time as my friends from the other schools, but everyone’s safety is much more important.” “Maintaining my GPA has been very challenging, but support from my friends and family, dedication, and more than a little perseverance went into it. That, and mastering the art of the “to-do” list!” Bertussi was involved at Stevens as the
Caroline Montana for The Stute.
ANSARY PITCH COMPETITION
Senior Design group Hip Tip awarded first place BY SARA DEUIDICIBUS Staff Writer
On Friday, April 30, the annual Ansary Entrepreneurship Competition took place virtually; this is the second consecutive year in which the event was not held in person due to the pandemic. Respectively, the first, second, and third place winners were Hip Tip, TuLip, and Livelog. The first place team was awarded $10,000, the second $5,000, and the third $2,500. This year’s competition
consisted of three rounds. The first was a quarter-final run by each academic department at Stevens—professors picked which teams would move on. Then came the semi-final, in which 45 teams competed by uploading 3-minute pitches in the form of YouTube videos to be evaluated by judges. Based on these pitches, 12 teams were then chosen to be finalists and compete for three winning positions for a chance to win monetary prizes to fund the official startup of their projects. All prize money was provided by the Cy and Jan Ansary
Foundation. This year’s moderator was Aaron Price, CEO of TechUnited: NJ, who has also moderated the virtual and in-person competition for many years. Similar to past years, some of the judges for the competition were Stevens alumni, including Stephen C. Crouch ‘10, Brian Donohue ‘11, and Rita N. Soni ‘92. Other judges included Winslow Lorenzo Sargeant from S&T LLC, Mónica Valenzuela from the Technology and Life Science Investments department of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, as
Take Back the Night engages Stevens community virtually BY ROSHNI REVANKAR Opinion Editor
On April 22, the Take Back the Night Committee (TBTNC) hosted its eighth annual Take Back the Night event virtually this year as “Take Back the Net.” The evening was a cele-
bration for those taking the steps toward healing, filled with poems and speeches read by guest speaker Cheyenne Jacobs and student Miriam Podkolzin. The event concluded with a question and answer session between the audience and Jacobs, and a presentation by Daniella Bautista,
who is the Gender Advocate for the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Student Government Organization (DNI). The event additionally brought engagement amongst members of the Stevens community and awareness about sexual assault, harassment, and sexual coercion.
The night started with a welcome address by Rachael Spelman, senior Business and Technology student and President of the TBTNC, and notes from the Director of Community Standards and Title IX Coordinator, Xhiljola Ruçi Kluger. Providing an example of what a traditional
Take Back the Night event would have looked like, Ruçi Kluger shared a video; there would have been marches throughout Hoboken, a candlelight vigil, and speeches by survivors. The stage was then
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A past Take Back the Night Event. Courtesy of TBTN’s DuckLink page.
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INSIDE THE GRAD ISSUE... Mind of a Freshman Gianna Callegari An unusual goodbye Alex Murtagh
PERSONAL ESSAYS Goodbye, Stevens. Hello, Life. Matthew Cunningham Letter from the Copy Editor Angelina Zaccaria Out like a lamb Eric S. Londres
Advice from an Alum Audrey Dsouza [News] CSA Sticker Fundraiser Grace Miguel [News] Take Back the Night Roshni Revankar
Welcome to our digital front page! While we can’t print right now due to COVID-19, each week we’ll have a front page layout in PDF form to bring some sense of normalcy to our paper.
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Friday, April 30
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THE GRAD ISSUE The Stute Staff Volume CXVIII No. 24
BY GRACE MIGUEL
Executive Board
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF..............................................................................NATALIE TODARO BUSINESS MANAGER........................................................................JORDYN RAMELLI MANAGING EDITOR.............................................................................SANJANA MADHU LAYOUT EDITOR.........................................................................................KEENAN YATES OUTREACH CHAIR.........................................................................GIANNA CALLEGARI DIGITAL MANAGER...................................................................................BEMIN SHAKER SECRETARY..................................................................................ZANE THUMMBORST
Editorial Board NEWS EDITOR....................................................................................TREVOR DAMEIKA SCIENCE EDITOR...........................................................................RAYNA INDELICATO OPINION EDITOR............................................................................ROSHNI REVANKAR HEAD COPY EDITOR......................................................................GIANNA CALLEGARI
Operations Board HEAD PHOTOGRAPHER.............................................................CAROLINE MONTANA SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER................................................................VANESSA HUERTA WEBMASTER.............................................................................................JOANA FARDAD
Staff & Contributors MATTHEW CUNNINGHAM ERIC S. LONDRES GRACE MIGUEL SARA DEUIDICIBUS
JACKSON HUDGINS PETER WHITE SIMON PEPA BRANDON SEIDMAN
Graduating Stute members
Thank you for all your contributions and hard work over the years! MATTHEW CUNNINGHAM ANDREW KINNEY ALEX MURTAGH ANGIE ZACCARIA ERIC S. LONDRES LIAM MCMURTRY DYLAN JAMES MOON YUSUF MOHAMMED ABHISHEK KATTI CHRISTIAN BONAVITA NASIR MONTALVO SAMANTHA WINTER DANIEL KANG
Graduation: a beginning or an end? BY GIANNA CALLEGARI OUTREACH CHAIR OPINION
We progress through life in stages. In each stage, we dedicate all of our time toward preparing ourselves for the next one. That’s what I’ve experienced in life so far, at least, and I don’t predict that this notion will change any time soon. I am incredibly fortunate to have received such an extensive education, and I continue to indulge in academic endeavors. Due to schooling, many stages of my life have been marked by a graduation. For instance, I was enrolled in pre-kindergarten at four years old, where I was prepared for kindergarten. I graduated from pre-k and finally reached the milestone of kindergarten, which then prepared me for first grade. This cycle continued throughout my life — throughout elementary school, into high school, now college, and I’m sure that it will extend onward. Each stage ended with graduation, and then a new stage began. That’s when the classic question comes into play — is graduation an end, or is it a beginning? Many people will say that it’s both, while I’m sure that others may think that it’s one and not the other. Personally, I think that everything in life is a cycle. When one thing ends, another begins. The same is true for graduation — when one of life’s stages ends, it lends itself to the commencement of another. Sadly, I don’t remember my preschool or kindergarten graduations at all, I just know that I was very excited for them. Everything
CSA ORGANIZES “COMBATING AAPI HATE STICKER FUNDRAISER”
tends to be more exciting when you’re a child, normally because you’re experiencing life through innocent eyes. However, I remember my eighth grade graduation very well. I was valedictorian, so I had the wonderful opportunity of standing in front of an audience filled with family and friends and giving a speech. I’ve always loved giving speeches, probably since it’s akin to performing in my mind. I also have a knack for writing them, and I have always enjoyed doing so. And, of course, how could I forget my high school graduation? Aside from the fact that it happened quite recently, it occurred under very unconventional circumstances, and I technically graduated from high school twice. The first ceremony was virtual — I attended it in my white gown and heels on a rolling chair in my basement. The second ceremony was two months later, socially distanced and in-person with no family present. People are normally sad to graduate, but I must confess that I never was. I’ve always had an understanding that almost everything in this life is temporary. Nothing lasts forever, so it’s important to enjoy the current stage of life that you’re in before it ends, and a new one begins. We get so caught up in preparing for what’s next that we don’t realize how fast life flies by. As the senior students at Stevens graduate, I wish them the best of luck on their next journey in life. Even though I’m only a freshman right now, I understand that I’ll be in their shoes, graduat-
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SENIOR STAFF WRITER Continuing student efforts to combat hate towards the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, the Chinese Student Association (CSA) is running a “Combating AAPI Hate Sticker Fundraiser.” Collaborating with the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE), the Theta Chapter of Nu Alpha Phi Fraternity (NAPhi), and the Alpha Rho Charter of Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority (SYZ), CSA is fundraising money for the Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus organization (AAJC). The AAJC’s mission is to advance “civil and human rights for Asian Americans and to build and promote a fair and equitable society for all.” AAJC has been helping communities that have experienced increased hate crimes and advocating for Asian Americans who are wrongly accused for the spread of the coronavirus.
Other clubs on campus have been making donations to similar groups — Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority recently ran a fundraiser for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDE). President of CSA, Ashley Chan said, “We narrowed down the choices based off other fundraisers other organizations have been doing, so we wanted to expand on the organizations to donate to.” Currently, there are six sticker designs in CSA’s fundraiser. Half
are themed after stopping AAPI hate and the other half are free range. The stickers were designed by Yanqing Liang, Zuting Chen, Anjali Paliwal, and Ashley Chan, all of whom are active members of CSA, SYZ and/or SASE. Four designs have been released and the remaining two will be coming out Monday, May 3. The current designs are Stop Asian Hate good
Read the full story on thestute.com Time Magazine.
Why your education shouldn’t end after graduation BY NATALIE TODARO EDITOR IN CHIEF OPINION
For a while I thought getting my undergraduate degree would be the last time I’d be a student. Because in a way, it can be. I technically don’t have to go to graduate school to have the career I want, in the sense that my Stevens undergraduate degree is enough preparation. In a way this was nice to know — I don’t have to immediately jump into graduate school after four hard years at Stevens. I don’t need to worry about applying to schools, finding one that has a program I’m interested in, etc, etc. But a few months ago I realized how much of a lifelong learner
I am — I genuinely love school and being a student. Even just reading about topics that interest me and hearing different perspectives gets me excited. And it was at this time that I also realized I do want to go to graduate school some day. Not immediately after I graduate from Stevens, but after I work for a bit, I do want to return to this life of studying and research and classes. Studying what? Not sure about that part yet. So maybe I’m not totally in the clear of being a student again. But even if you do plan to end your time as a student after graduating from Stevens, it doesn’t mean your education has to end too. I think a lot of times we view “education” as something you complete or obtain; that it has a starting point and an endpoint.
After all, the phrase is “getting an education,” but in my eyes, education should be a constant state of being. Education is not just stressing over books and frantically checking on grades. Education can be a really beautiful thing. It can actually teach you things about yourself — what you like, don’t like, things that make you excited, angry, bored, and more. It doesn’t have to be a long, laborious task. Education can be as simple as reading a few articles online about something you didn’t know. It can be seeing something out in the world and then looking it up later after your curiosity is sparked, which I know we’ve all done at
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An unusual goodbye BY ALEX MURTAGH
SENIOR STAFF WRITER OPINION Although I have a month until I walk across the stage at graduation, the time has finally come for my last column. As per usual, I have no idea where to begin given my mixed emotions about graduation. In some ways I am so done with this place, but in others, I’m not quite ready to let go yet. I guess more than anything I’m looking for some sort of closure especially after what happened to my undergraduate senior year last spring. I remember going home for spring break and thinking we would be back in just a few weeks, one month tops. But the emails kept coming, announcing everything about how my senior year was just ending with a little apology note and a few YouTube videos telling us how great the Class of 2020 was from people who clearly didn’t understand what we were going through. Having all the fun and meaningful “send off” type events just taken away along with a virtual graduation was hard to deal with. More than anything, it lacked the closure that I, and probably most of my fellow graduates, really needed in a year filled with so much loss. The whole situation felt like I was knocked down by COVID-19 and then repeatedly kicked while I was down. I was ready to just give it all up at one point. It felt like all the meaning of everything I worked for had been sucked out of my life in a matter of weeks. I never had the chance to say goodbye. Goodbye to the people I took classes with. Goodbye to my
favorite professors. Goodbye to all the clubs I was a part of. Goodbye to all the people who made a difference in my life these past five years. I never got to look any of them in the eye and tell them how much they meant to me and how much I was going to miss them. I never got that closure and probably never will. Some may argue getting a graduation for my Master’s degree makes up for it, but that’s really hard to argue when I can’t even be next to my friends or take the time to talk with them afterward. This graduation almost feels more like a funeral the way it’s being run. I’m still angry with the way this school treated the Class of 2020, and I’m annoyed at the way the Class of 2021 is being treated. While graduations usually evoke a sense of joy and accomplishment, it’s become so much more than that for me. It has become a reminder of how nothing is guaranteed and that we need to relish in the few moments of celebration we do get in this life. Even with all of that, writing this gave me a chance to remember all the good times I had too. From being a part of SigEp and founding the Martial Arts Club to going to Broadway plays and dancing the night away at Founder’s Day Ball with friends. Giving tours while people shouted happy birthday at me, and hanging out late at night after Stute meetings will always make me smile when I think back. I have enough memories to last a lifetime and then some. The late nights studying, filled with stress and drama are slowly fading away as time marches on. There was never much before college that I could think about and just feel good on the inside, even if for just a moment. Now, I
smile looking at all the pictures of me and my friends and thinking about my late night runs to Bagels on the Hudson and 7- Eleven plus all the stupid conversations we had on the way. Those are the memories that last forever, even though our time here went by so fast. Though, I’m left wondering if I made a difference on campus and in people’s lives. I may have been happy, but did I make the people around me happy? Did I help to make Stevens a better place? Did I help bring them the same sense of fulfillment they brought me? And if I did, will they remember to pay it forward and learn from my mistakes? I can only hope the answer to all these questions are unequivocally yes. That became one of my goals early on (after giving up on getting a 4.0 GPA), so I hope I at least achieved that. There is one quote that aptly describes how I’m feeling from the always insightful Winnie the Pooh. “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” As much as I hate this place, I have an equal amount of love for it and all the people here. I’m not quite ready to move on, but unfortunately time waits for no one. Before I close the door on my final piece as the Senioritis columnist, I do have some people to thank. I figured this was the next best thing to being able to do this in person (especially since this edition is online only). First of all to the current Stute E-board for breaking precedent and allowing me to write this as a grad student, and to the past Stute E-boards and members for helping me discover
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Friday, April 30
THE GRAD ISSUE GETTING
PERSONAL Read some essays from graduating Stute members
Out like a lamb BY ERIC S. LONDRES When I attempt to construct a narrative of my four years at Stevens, to present a piecemeal construction of the 1348 days between my first permanent relocation to its campus and now, I am overwhelmed by the enormity of the totality of my experience. In late autumn 2019, roughly a year and a half ago, I attended a panel in which several alumni presented their thoughts on life after Stevens from the perspectives of people who played an active role in student life during their undergraduate years. One of these students, Andy Waldron (who I had the pleasure of meeting once before), spoke about the strangeness which came with moving from a position of relative accomplishment at school to being an entry-level, green employee at a company. At the time, conversations like this felt abstract. These days, not so much. The truth is, I could easily write two dozen pages reflecting on all the ways Stevens changed me, and all the ways I changed it. I could be prideful of my many accomplishments, serious about my failures, and eloquent in my presentation of the many hard lessons I learned along the way. I could author a total refutation of my critics (as I have been encouraged to do many times), and underline the achievements and virtue of my friends and those professors I’ve made personal connections with. I could do this. But I won’t. Perhaps for the first time in my Stevens career, I find myself utterly lacking the desire to impress upon the world my viewpoints and experiences. Certainly, for the first time since joining The Stute as a contributing member in September 2018, I find myself perfectly content keeping my mouth shut. I’d intended this essay to serve as an epilogue to my hitherto contributions to The Stute; perhaps it still can be. The truth is, my ambivalence is a symptom. While it would be entirely unimaginable to the sophomore-year me, I am actually excited to become a green again. I’m satisfied with the amazing experiences I had here; I don’t feel the need to relive them, or cling to them too tightly. I definitely can’t say that I believe I’ve done everything here I could have — even if the pandemic hadn’t happened, that could never have been true. What I have realized instead is that Stevens has already offered me everything that it will offer me. It became obvious during my job-seeking process that I had no need for further learning my final two semesters (as annoying as that felt). When I look around at the state of our campus and Hoboken itself, it’s plain to see that I have no further opportunities here overall. It’s certainly been quite the adventure. But, once I Stevens-die, I know that I have yet another adventure waiting for me on the other side. I’m not going to try and wrap this story, my story, with a nice bow and moral at the end. To those who are about to pass through the fog gate with me, I’m sure many of you feel the same way I do. To those for whom the finish line I describe still seems impossibly far away, I have this to say:
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Letter from the Copy Editor BY ANGELINA ZACCARIA Hello! Frequent readers of The Stute might not recognize my name as a typical staff writer — I’ve been the Head Copy Editor for the past four years, editing in the shadows fixing Oxford commas, sentences that are just not quite right, and cases of oh no no no how on earth do I fix this fueled by Pepsi and cold pizza in three different Stute offices until the wee hours of the morning. (Ironically, I have a penchant for long, somewhat difficult-to-read but technically not run-on sentences that make my copy editor spidey senses tingle.) No matter how frustrating things might have been at times, I would never change anything for a second, despite going from a wide-eyed freshman who thought everything was great to a senior who’s a bit more jaded. Anyone who has ever seen my calendar knows how busy I’ve kept myself over the past four years—and I’m definitely going to take a good long nap after graduation—but I’m so glad I’ve been involved with everything I have. Otherwise, I never would have met some of my clos-
est friends, between Performing Arts Pre-O, SDS, The Stute, Theta Phi, a cappella, and the Software Engineering department. I got to make so many amazing memories over the past four years, and I will be forever grateful for that. From Stute Weekend back in July 2017 where I first met so many people I’m still close with to this day, to right after my very last production night (*sobs*), my Stute fam has been with me through thick and thin. We’ve had a lot of high-stress but also really fun times together, trying to get everything edited before midnight, spilling the tea, and hanging out in the office or on the corner outside my apartment just talking for hours after we submitted the paper. I was able to start an a cappella group just a month into freshman year with some of my best friends, and we even competed in the competition from Pitch Perfect this year (it was virtual, unfortunately, but me not having to learn choreography and dance like an awkward turtle is not the worst thing in the world). I’ve had so many great times with my friends in SDS, spending pretty much two weeks straight in DeBaun (a.k.a.
my second home) each semester during tech week and in between classes, consuming far too much Midtown and bubble tea, going to Bagels on the Hudson at 2 a.m., and hanging out at the pier this year. I’ll always look back fondly on spending time at the Theta Phi house hanging out with sisters, spending time with my amazing big and little, getting artsy for big/ little week, and making so many wonderful friends I might never have even met otherwise. As for my Software Engineering friends, we’ve had a great time learning so many new things together and from each other, hanging out at Kung Fu Tea after class, and going to O’Bagel in the 15 minutes between classes and making it to the next one by the skin of our teeth. I’ve been so lucky to be able to get to know people from all of these places better, starting off as people I was in a club with or doing a project with and becoming friends I can’t imagine living without. We’ve had so much fun together, and some of my fondest memories are our spontaneous late night and weekend adven-
work, and resilience in pursing a goal. If there’s something you want to do, someone you want to be, there’s no better time to try than now. If you don’t have a dream or goal at this second — it is completely okay to just exist. I know personally in the last year I’ve played over a thousand hours of Animal Crossing, and probably spent more hours watching Netflix. You won’t always be productive or on the grind, and it’s alright. It’s normal. Sometimes you’re just waiting. Sometimes you need a break in order to recover. Big or small, just keep doing what makes you excited for tomorrow and you can’t go wrong. Once again, congratulations to the Class of 2021 on your upcoming graduation and I wish you great success in all your future endeavors. If you’ve read any of my articles or columns throughout the years, I am extra thankful to you for supporting student journalism at Stevens. This may be my last time ever writing for The Stute, so if you see me at Biergarten or East LA this summer, or even 10 summers from now, always feel welcome to say “hi.” Even if we were not friends before, you
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Dear graduating seniors (from a 2020 graduate) It feels surreal to be typing this, because most days I feel like I haven’t even graduated. Yet, here I am writing advice to the class of 2021. First and foremost, I sincerely want to congratulate everyone who made it through this past school year. I’m sure both Zoom University and socially distanced classes have been less than ideal. Maybe you have even come to miss Stevens (crazy, I know)! Whether you got stuck at home, or in a lease you didn’t need, you probably felt frustrated, confused, and lonely many times this past year. Who could have known that days would turn into weeks, and weeks would turn into months, that we’d be separated from our “normal” lives for this long. I want to believe that we’re in the final inning, and that with vaccinations we’ll be able to reunite with friends and reclaim our summers — but who can really know? Whether you have a job lined up, continuing your education, or taking life one step at a time, don’t let the world stop you from feeling accomplished. Graduating from college is a huge milestone! In comparison to the world and all its problems, you may feel like
your life and this moment are so trivial. I know I did. In those moments, remind yourself that the most precious person to yourself is you. You’ve endured a lot and worked your hardest to get here. Once you get your diploma, I hope you frame it on the same day, and celebrate with those who love you. Being stationed in my childhood bedroom for the past year has me feeling like a high schooler all over again: lethargic, slightly rebellious, and lost in my own thoughts. But I definitely feel like an adult. Two direct deposits a month definitely make you feel like an adult. This contrast of feeling like a child and like an adult, feeling successful and like I haven’t done anything at all, feeling lonely and happy alone, I’ve come to accept it all as normal. From the sample size of a total of five friends, I can confirm it is very normal for college graduates in a post-COVID world to feel like this. So, if you find yourself feeling like this soon, do not worry. Even if you have doubts, the truth is that you’ve come a lot farther than your past self could have ever imagined. Your Stevens degree may or may not even be what you’re passionate about. But it is still an attestation to your intelligence, hard
BY MATTHEW CUNNINGHAM It might seem like a strange thing, but when I look back on the past four years at Stevens, I think about Plato’s allegory of the cave. The allegory begins with a group of prisoners chained in a cave, unable to turn their heads. All they can see in front of them is a blank wall. Behind the prisoners is a fire, and between the prisoners and the fire is a walkway. Puppeteers walk along the walkway and use objects to cast shadows on the cave wall. The prisoners do not know what a shadow is, nor who’s making it, and the prisoners truly believe that these shadows are part of their reality. They design entire systems and ways of life around these shadows, giving names to figures and studying shapes, and awarding honors for those who best identify figures. One prisoner eventually breaks free from the chains and looks around. He sees the fire used to cast shadows on the wall. He turns away his head, feeling blinded not only by the intensity of the light but also by the knowledge of his reality. He retreats toward the other prisoners, not wanting to believe what he now knows, and yet he can’t help but see the shadow more clearly with his new knowledge. The freed prisoner is then forced out of the cave, and he begins making sense of the world above ground. He looks at shadows and reflections, and for the first time he looks at objects and people directly. He looks at the sun, and he begins to make sense of seasons, weather, time, and space. He begins to make sense of a world existing beyond a cave wall. Suddenly all of the people and established practices in the cave become meaningless. Outside of the cave, the only thing that matters is continuing the process of liberation. In many ways, I feel like the freed prisoner stumbling out of the cave for the first time, beginning his journey toward liberation. When I first came to Stevens, I had a clear vision for the four years ahead of me. I had ideas for what I was supposed to do and who I should be. By the time I reached graduation, I wanted to feel and exist in a certain way: intellectually fulfilled, economically secure, and on my way to accomplish bigger goals. But over time, that vision got muddier and withered away. Class work and lectures began to challenge what mattered most to me. Meeting other people and joining student organizations made me realize I had more skills and talents than I previously thought. In March 2020, when the pandemic hit, the whole world was in chaos, and I felt so unsure of my journey ahead. But through this chaos, I’ve begun seeing the world more clearly for what it truly is: uncertain and a work in progress. It’s also shown me that I, too, am a work in progress. With graduation ahead, I’ve been reflecting on the past four years and how they have shaped me. I’ve been exposed to new ways of being that have challenged how I understood the world. I have made mistakes more times than I want to admit, and I have learned how to embrace failure and uncertainty and accept the lessons made by these moments. I have learned that I know far less than I thought I did, and I have learned
Patch.com
BY AUDREY DSOUZA
Goodbye, Stevens. Hello, Life.